Publication Date: Wednesday, July 27, 2005
Rolling in dough
Rolling in dough
(July 27, 2005) Mountain View bakery specializes in German breads
by Allison Gerard
The low-carb craze is losing momentum, but Esther's German Bakery jumped on the bandwagon at the right time and their business has grown rapidly ever since.
Owners Robert and Esther Nio did not set out to market their whole-grain loaves as low-carb, but after hiring a consultant who advised them of the trend they decided to give it a try.
The grain-and-seed-packed breads from their native country are naturally low-carb due to the low amount of flour used in favorites such as pumpernickel and dark rye.
Now, with the low-carb craze dwindling and people looking toward "good-for-you" carbs such as whole grains, the bakery is once again poised for success.
"I think we'll make it, but we are being careful to not grow too fast," Esther said.
So far, this practical approach has served the couple well in business.
After Robert's job brought the couple to Mountain View eight years ago, they quickly realized the whole-grain breads the two enjoyed in Germany were not available locally. Esther recalled going to the store and being disappointed when she discovered that most breads contained food coloring and no actual whole grains at all.
To remedy this problem, the couple decided to make and sell their own bread. Not bakers themselves, they brought a master baker over from Germany, along with a German bread press and imported flour and marzipan to ensure the authenticity of their breads.
The Nios believe freshness is part of what makes great bread, and guarantee that all the bread they sell is less than a day old. When bread is left unsold on the shelves, they donate the leftovers to area food banks.
The dark, grainy loaves may be familiar to Germans, but it is a far cry from the white Wonder Bread of many Americans' youth, and the Nios realize this group will be harder to convert.
"We knew we had the Germans, but it's the Americans that are harder to sell to," Robert said.
The dense loaves are packed full of seeds and grains. They not only
look different from the loaves lining the shelves at the supermarket, but weigh about twice as much.
Robert admits that the low-carb craze really helped sales, as did their location in health-conscious Northern California.
The Nios are not too concerned about competition because they feel they have pretty much cornered the market on German bread -- especially their Steiner bread, which is made from dough with a watery, mud-like consistency, Robert said. This makes manipulating the dough difficult, a task few bakers have mastered.
"When we started, our idea was to complement the offering, not compete or substitute," Robert said.
Currently all the breads and pastries are made at the company's kitchen in Mountain View and sold at local stores and farmers markets. Their breads and pastries can be found at the Milk Pail and Dittmer's in Mountain View, Draeger's in Los Altos and Menlo Park and at farmer's markets and other local gourmet stores.
Note: Esther's is opening its first retail bakery in midtown Palo Alto, at the site of the old Harmony Bakery, at 2737 Middlefield Road. If final permits are approved, the bakery could open in August.
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